4 ms·

An anecdote from me: Before I discovered audiobooks I rarely read non technical books, especially fictions. I just couldn't find enough time to finish books at

An anecdote from me: Before I discovered audiobooks I rarely read non technical books, especially fictions. I just couldn't find enough time to finish books at a satisfactory pace. What's more, I couldn't enjoy many types of exercises and because of that I just didn't exercise enough. I find the activity of doing those types of exercises by themselves or even with music is too low in information density, that I just became bored after a while. Now with audiobooks I read many non technical books while I do those types of exercises I couldn't enjoy before. If a book is not great I dont find it a waste of time. The combination of audiobooks and exercising is the right amount of information density for me to enjoy the moment. The result? I exercise much much more now. Also I started to use the local library for audiobooks. Comparing to the effort of borrowing paper books or device restriction of borrowing ebooks, borrowing audiobooks is just a much better overall experience.

overthemoon 7y ago
If I may, what kind of exercises paired well with audiobooks? I need a routine, any kind of routine, but like you I find a lot of exercising dull.
- theseadroid 7y ago
  My routine with audiobooks: Cardio: stationary bike, jumping rope, stair climbing. Body weight: some for abs some for lower back. I learned and picked a few from the youtube channel Athlean X. I personally feel we need those exercises to combat the long hours we sit everyday. And stretching! It was so boring before audiobooks I never stretch, now I stretch before and after. Feel free to experiment to find your own optimal routine, since we have different schedules and access to equipments. I guess the idea is with audiobooks experimenting can be fun too. Even cleaning the house is fun now with audiobooks :D
  - jm547ster 7y ago
    Mention of AthleanX and no mention of face pulls. I think aside the low back and ab exercises you mention it’s the single best antidote to the rounded-shoulders computer posture. He recommends them after ever single workout and from doing this the last couple of months has done wonders from my experience.
    - pmarreck 7y ago
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiRAi2KOfRQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiRAi2KOfRQ His video on it. The comments on it are pretty funny actually
  - jborden13 7y ago
    I second audiobooks on long bike rides. I listened to the Mueller report and several audiobooks on my last bike tour and it was a great way to pass the time.
- throw0101a 7y ago
  Lifting weights. There's a lot of waiting between sets as you get to higher numbers. See the book Starting Strength by Rippetoe, or /r/fitness. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rippetoe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rippetoe He's highly opinionated (on a variety of topics), but his system is pretty good. Note: it's fairly boring, as it's the same five basic exercises over and over. But it gets results and having strength is handy. Other than that, being able to do a 5K is also useful: * https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-5k-not-the-marathon-is-the-ideal-race/ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-5k-not-the-marathon... Humans really don't need that much activity to stay healthy: at some point it's diminishing returns.
- jread 7y ago
  I cycle with audiobooks - 1-2 books/month. It really helps pass the time during long rides. I've tried with running, but being a more intense and high impact exercise it didn't work for me.
- arethuza 7y ago
  Walking up mountains - a typical Saturday for me is 2 hour drive, 8 or 9 hour walk then 2 hour drive back so usually about one non-abridged audiobook per week. NB Only slightly odd side effect is I now associate particular mountains with specific topics....
kitten_smuggler 7y ago
Not sure how you exercise to audiobooks, unless maybe its running or something like that. Up-tempo music really helps increase my cadence. I've tried w/ podcasts and audiobooks and am forced to switch back or else just find myself half-halfheartedly working out.
- theseadroid 7y ago
  I guess for me I mostly halfheart on the audiobook end. Like if I missed a sentence or two I'll just let it go. So I dont listen to serious books. On the other hand some weight training doesn't really require a fast cadence if not training for explosion I assume. Interestingly for me music sometimes can mess up my own exercise tempo.
- throw0101a 7y ago
  > Not sure how you exercise to audiobooks If you lift weights, there's a lot of waiting involved between sets. You can listen to stuff while you're idle, and then hit pause as you're doing your reps. When you're just starting out you may only need 90s rest, but as you progress to higher loads, that will rise to (say) three minutes, and then even longer the more 'advanced' you get.
- macNchz 7y ago
  I find that podcasts or audiobooks can actually help my pacing on longer weekend runs. With music I all too easily get caught up in a good song, let my pace drift faster into unsustainable territory, and wind up paying for it on the back half of the run.
- scarface74 7y ago
  I exercise mostly indoors these days at home and most of my workouts are more endurance than cardio (long story) like walking at an incline on the treadmill and using the elliptical at high tension or lifting weights. In all three cases, the machines help me/force me to keep a cadence. When I did run outside, I had a Garmin GPS Watch (before the Apple Watch was a thing) to force me to stay at my desired pace. That being said. I can’t cycle without music. That is basically my only real cardio.
davidwparker 7y ago
Definitely love using the library for audiobooks. I mainly use apps: Axis 360, Hoopla, and Libby (and a little bit of Overdrive). It's been a godsend for reading for me and saved me a ton. I also use those apps for ebooks, removing social media from my phone, and try to read a few pages here and there when I would have been scrolling mindlessly before.
rzimmerman 7y ago
I love running with audiobooks. People I talk to are initially thrown off (don't you need high-tempo/"pump" music?) but if you're get into the habit and don't push yourself too hard it's easy to listen to fiction 20-40 minutes at a time while doing cardio. It's positive feedback, too - I look forward to running because I get to listen to my book. And I like my book because (after getting into a routine) running makes me feel good.

overthemoon 7y ago

If I may, what kind of exercises paired well with audiobooks? I need a routine, any kind of routine, but like you I find a lot of exercising dull.

theseadroid 7y ago
My routine with audiobooks: Cardio: stationary bike, jumping rope, stair climbing. Body weight: some for abs some for lower back. I learned and picked a few from the youtube channel Athlean X. I personally feel we need those exercises to combat the long hours we sit everyday. And stretching! It was so boring before audiobooks I never stretch, now I stretch before and after. Feel free to experiment to find your own optimal routine, since we have different schedules and access to equipments. I guess the idea is with audiobooks experimenting can be fun too. Even cleaning the house is fun now with audiobooks :D
- jm547ster 7y ago
  Mention of AthleanX and no mention of face pulls. I think aside the low back and ab exercises you mention it’s the single best antidote to the rounded-shoulders computer posture. He recommends them after ever single workout and from doing this the last couple of months has done wonders from my experience.
  - pmarreck 7y ago
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiRAi2KOfRQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiRAi2KOfRQ His video on it. The comments on it are pretty funny actually
- jborden13 7y ago
  I second audiobooks on long bike rides. I listened to the Mueller report and several audiobooks on my last bike tour and it was a great way to pass the time.
throw0101a 7y ago
Lifting weights. There's a lot of waiting between sets as you get to higher numbers. See the book Starting Strength by Rippetoe, or /r/fitness. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rippetoe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rippetoe He's highly opinionated (on a variety of topics), but his system is pretty good. Note: it's fairly boring, as it's the same five basic exercises over and over. But it gets results and having strength is handy. Other than that, being able to do a 5K is also useful: * https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-5k-not-the-marathon-is-the-ideal-race/ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-5k-not-the-marathon... Humans really don't need that much activity to stay healthy: at some point it's diminishing returns.
jread 7y ago
I cycle with audiobooks - 1-2 books/month. It really helps pass the time during long rides. I've tried with running, but being a more intense and high impact exercise it didn't work for me.
arethuza 7y ago
Walking up mountains - a typical Saturday for me is 2 hour drive, 8 or 9 hour walk then 2 hour drive back so usually about one non-abridged audiobook per week. NB Only slightly odd side effect is I now associate particular mountains with specific topics....

kitten_smuggler 7y ago

Not sure how you exercise to audiobooks, unless maybe its running or something like that. Up-tempo music really helps increase my cadence. I've tried w/ podcasts and audiobooks and am forced to switch back or else just find myself half-halfheartedly working out.

theseadroid 7y ago
I guess for me I mostly halfheart on the audiobook end. Like if I missed a sentence or two I'll just let it go. So I dont listen to serious books. On the other hand some weight training doesn't really require a fast cadence if not training for explosion I assume. Interestingly for me music sometimes can mess up my own exercise tempo.
throw0101a 7y ago
> Not sure how you exercise to audiobooks If you lift weights, there's a lot of waiting involved between sets. You can listen to stuff while you're idle, and then hit pause as you're doing your reps. When you're just starting out you may only need 90s rest, but as you progress to higher loads, that will rise to (say) three minutes, and then even longer the more 'advanced' you get.
macNchz 7y ago
I find that podcasts or audiobooks can actually help my pacing on longer weekend runs. With music I all too easily get caught up in a good song, let my pace drift faster into unsustainable territory, and wind up paying for it on the back half of the run.
scarface74 7y ago
I exercise mostly indoors these days at home and most of my workouts are more endurance than cardio (long story) like walking at an incline on the treadmill and using the elliptical at high tension or lifting weights. In all three cases, the machines help me/force me to keep a cadence. When I did run outside, I had a Garmin GPS Watch (before the Apple Watch was a thing) to force me to stay at my desired pace. That being said. I can’t cycle without music. That is basically my only real cardio.

davidwparker 7y ago

Definitely love using the library for audiobooks. I mainly use apps: Axis 360, Hoopla, and Libby (and a little bit of Overdrive). It's been a godsend for reading for me and saved me a ton. I also use those apps for ebooks, removing social media from my phone, and try to read a few pages here and there when I would have been scrolling mindlessly before.

rzimmerman 7y ago

I love running with audiobooks. People I talk to are initially thrown off (don't you need high-tempo/"pump" music?) but if you're get into the habit and don't push yourself too hard it's easy to listen to fiction 20-40 minutes at a time while doing cardio. It's positive feedback, too - I look forward to running because I get to listen to my book. And I like my book because (after getting into a routine) running makes me feel good.